Chairs are ancient art and take countless forms. A dictionary defines a chair as "a piece of furniture for one person to sit on, having a back and, usually, four legs." While a chair need not have legs, it generally provides back support, unlike a stool. The "beanbag" chair, popularized in the 1960's, is an example of such a chair.
Typically, a beanbag chair includes sheets of inexpensive, colorful, flexible material sewn together to provide a generally spherical enclosure for a quantity of inexpensive, loose filling, such as polystyrene beads (the "beans"). The enclosure is usually only filled with beads to about half its capacity, thereby giving the enclosure an amorphous, shape. When a person sits on the beanbag chair, a depression readily forms and the person is seated in the depression. Although the resultant body position may be comfortable, it can also be awkward, especially for an adult. These chairs are, however, inexpensive to acquire and they are perceived as "fun" to sit on, especially by children.
In an attempt to retain the comfort of the beanbag chair, but to improve upon its versatility, additional support and shape-holding elements have been added to the flexible enclosure. For example plastic and metal frames that are configured like traditional chair seats and backs have been enclosed within a flexible enclosure. The result is a traditional chair with padding that is easily displaced from the frame. Thus, such a chair does not provide the benefits of either a traditional chair or a beanbag chair. Worse yet, the possibility for injury is greatly increased as people tend to jump or "plop" onto beanbag chairs, whereas traditional chairs are usually mounted with a certain level of reserve. Therefore, if one jumps onto a beanbag chair having hidden, rigid elements, there is an increased likelihood of injury.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a chair that has the comfort of a beanbag, with the additional support provided by frame elements, but without the potential danger of rigid elements.